One of the best Oklahoma Sooners of all time, Adrian Peterson is also one of the NFL’s best running backs of all time. Peterson has not yet called it a day on his NFL career that has spanned 180 games and 14 NFL seasons.
He has rushed for 14,820 yards and ranks fifth all time in career rushing yards. He’s destined to be a hall of farmer once he ends his career, but is already viewed as one of the best players in the NFL’s 100-year history.
The Athletic took a run at ranking the top 100 players of all time, and Peterson is ranked 72nd. Here’s what the staff at The Athletic had to say (subscription required).
Peterson has made a career out of making even the most prepared defenses look silly. The current free agent enters his 15th season ranked fifth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list at 14,820 yards, and if he finds his way onto a roster again he’ll have a good chance of eclipsing Barry Sanders (15,269) for fourth. His path to a spot among the game’s greatest figures at his position has been paved by a relentlessness that defined his most memorable moments, whether it was his record-setting rookie season or his NFL MVP campaign in 2012 that came on the heels of ACL surgery. It’s a trait — combined with breathtaking speed and power — that helped Peterson earn the No. 72 spot on The Athletic’s NFL 100 list. – The Athletic NFL Staff
Over his last three seasons, Peterson’s averaged 848 rushing yards and six touchdowns a season. Those would be solid numbers for any running back, let alone one in his age 33 to 35 seasons. In 2020 with the Detroit Lions, Peterson rushed for 604 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
He still has something to offer the NFL and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him land on a team at some point in the 2021 season as injuries mount and teams need depth. Whether he plays another year or 2020 was his last, Peterson will go down as one of the greatest players to play the game.
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